#19 East Mississippi Takes A Step Back At Hinds
(Feb 7, 2022) Utica, MS – The 19th-ranked Lions saw their three-game win streak halted by The Bulldogs, 74-73, in MACCC road action at J.D. Boyd Gym.
The Lions led for the majority of the opening 20 minutes of play on foreign hardwood. Late in the first half, Brandon Deravine’s hook in the lane and subsequent three-point play plus a Blake Butler bucket put EMCC in front, 40-31, with two minutes left until halftime.
Riding the hot hand of sophomore forward Jakorie Smith’s 17 first-half points, the Lions owned a 42-36 halftime lead.
Following the break, EMCC maintained a solid margin for the opening six minutes of the second stanza. Consecutive treys by Danny Washington gave the Lions a double-digit (60-50) lead by the 14:26 mark of the half.
Sparked by the red-hot shooting of Jalen Myers, the host Bulldogs responded with 11 unanswered points, taking a 61-60 lead midway through the half.
The next six minutes of action saw four more lead changes and a pair of ties before back-to-back three-pointers by Martarious Burrell and Treylan Smith put Hinds on top, 71-67, with three minutes remaining in regulation.
After the teams traded turnovers, a Kyle Hayman dunk for Hinds was answered by Traemond Pittman’s drive to the rim and Smith’s inside post move to knot the score at 73-73 with just under a minute to play.
Following a Hinds missed three-point attempt, East Mississippi’s Butler had a chance to win the game for the Lions, but he was stripped of the ball by Jamaal Esco on a drive to the basket with six seconds showing on the game clock. After the steal, Burrell was fouled with two ticks left on the clock. At the other end, Martarious sank the first of two free throw attempts accounting for the final score.
With the loss, head coach Billy Begley’s EMCC Lions fall to 15-5 overall and 8-3 in conference action. Smith recorded his 19th career double-double by finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Deravine and Butler followed with 17 and 13 points, respectively, with Deravine securing 8 boards. Danny Washington dealt five assists.
Improving to 7-12 overall and 5-5 in league play, Hinds was powered by Myers’ game-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the line. Myers finished with a “twin ten,” grabbing a dozen rebounds. Hayman followed with 15 points for the Bulldogs. Jamal Esco was very generous in the win, tossing out a game high nine apples and accountable for three steals, the later led to the game winning point.
East Mississippi CC will continue conference play by taking on the Indians of Itawamba CC on Thursday (Feb. 10) in Scooba at Currie Coliseum. Hinds hosts Holmes Thursday as well.
